Lamyant dan Lakaz NHDC – Kestyon a Minis Lozman Shakeel Mohammed and Others
27.10.2025
This is the Extra Parliamentary Question (EPQ)* by LALIT addressed to the Minister of Housing & Lands, Hon. Shakeel Mohammed, and Minister & Junior Minister of the Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Hon. Rajesh Bhagwan and Hon. Joanna Bérenger.
LALIT’s EPQ: STATUS OF GOVERNMENT REPLACEMENT PLAN TO DEMOLISH AND REPLACE EDC TOXIC ASBESTOS HOUSES
(a) Will Ministers and Junior Minister outline for the benefit of all residents of asbestos houses in the Republic of Mauritius, the Government’s plan to replace these toxic asbestos houses and if there is a timetable set out for the replacement plan?
(b) If not, when will replacement plan timetable be ready and communicated to the descendants of generation of people living in asbestos houses now for more than sixty years?
(c) To overcome some of the issues in the Government replacement plan detailed in Mr R. Bhagwan reply to PQ B/373, is Government considering invoking serious health hazards of residents and serious asbestos contamination in the surrounding areas to act for the compulsory demolition and replacement of all asbestos houses?
(d) Is Government considering invoking Cause Majeure to prevent potential significant additional health hazards and significant environment contamination of all residents of asbestos houses and the whole surrounding neighbourhood in case of an accidental fire of a house with asbestos to enable it to urgently move forward with compulsory demolition and the replacement plan?
Note that before EPQ, on 22nd January 2025, LALIT wrote a detailed documented Open Letter to Minister of Housing, Hon. S. Mohamed on the urgent need to come up with a replacement plan of asbestos houses. We have not received any response nor an acknowledgement of receipt of our letter. [We table a copy of LALIT’s Open Letter 22-Jan-2025.]
Note also that our present EPQ follows an earlier Parliamentary Question ( PQ No. B/373) on “Asbestos Housing Units – Dismantling & Redeployment Plan” put by Hon. R. Jhummun (Second Member for Rivière des Anguilles & Souillac) to Hon. R. Bhagwan as Minister of the Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change. In his reply, Mr R. Bhagwan explains to the House the different reasons why there have been delays in the replacement plan and he commits, we quote from Hansard 15 April 2025, that “... my Ministry will consult the Ministry of Housing and Lands so we come up with a redeployment plan to address all the mentioned issues as there is actually no redeployment plan.” More than six months have elapsed since. [We table a copy of PQ B/373 and Answer as reported in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) of Tuesday 15 April 2025.]
Note 1
* This “Extra-Parliamentary Question” follows a tradition begun in the weekly Kreol language newspaper Dorad in the year 1996-97, under the heading “Kestyon Extra-Parlmanter” which became so popular it was called the weekly “Kep”. The newspaper published by Ledikasyon Pu Travayer was sold in a Mauritian Island edition and also a Rodrigues Island version each week.
We are tabling Copy of PQ No. B/373 and Copy of LALIT Open Letter to Hon. S. Mohamed:
PQ No. B/373 on “Asbestos Housing Units – Dismantling & Redeployment Plan” and Answer - 15thApril 2025
“Mr Jhummun: whether, in regard to housing units containing asbestos, he will state the number thereof identified in Constituency No. 13, Rivière des Anguilles and Souillac, indicating the – (a) expected time frame for the dismantling thereof, and
“(b) redeployment plan, if any, devised for the occupiers thereof.”
“Mr Bhagwan: Madam Speaker, according to information obtained from the Ministry of Housing and Lands, I am informed that there were initially 3,013 ex-CHA/EDC housing units containing cemented asbestos sheets, constructed in the 1960s over 59 sites island-wide. Of these, 366 were found in Constituency No. 13, Rivière des Anguilles and Souillac.
“According to a joint survey carried out by officers of the Ministry of Housing and Lands and the Solid Waste Management Division of my Ministry in 2022, there remains a total of 1,453 ex-CHA/EDC housing units that need to be dismantled. Out of the initial 366 houses in Constituency No. 13, some 162 had already been demolished with remaining 204 houses.
“With regard to part (a) of the question, there is no specific time frame for demolition of these housing units as request for dismantling emanates from the owner directly or through the Citizen Support Unit, local authorities, the Ministry of Housing and Lands and CEB officers and are, thus, attended to on a case-to-case basis.
“Since 2015, the Solid Waste Management Division of my Ministry procures the services of contractors for the dismantling of houses containing asbestos and disposal thereof. Requests received from owners are, thus, directed to the contractor for necessary actions. A total of 218 housing units remained containing asbestos have just been dismantled around the island from 2015 to 2024.
“A new bidding exercise is being undertaken at the level of the Solid Waste Division of my Ministry for dismantling, removal and disposal of cemented asbestos sheets from ex-CHA/EDC houses for a contract period of 24 months. It is expected to have a new contract by end of this month.
“Madam Speaker, I am also informed that all the targeted housing units could not be dismantled for the following reasons –
“(a) Very few requests for the dismantling of asbestos houses are received.
“(b) Many applicants are not owners of the housing units. They are either heirs or tenants without any formal document, and in many cases, are either abroad or untraceable. It becomes difficult for the Ministry of Housing and Lands to establish ownership of the houses.
“(c) In cases of unoccupied houses where notices have been served and affixed by local authorities, and whose owners could not be traced during a survey, they intervene just prior to demolition of these houses and prevent the dismantling thereof.
“(d) Owners and occupiers also request for the reconstruction of their houses or for financial assistance prior to giving their consent for dismantling of the houses.
“Madam Speaker, as regards part (b) of the question, my Ministry will consult the Ministry of Housing and Lands so we come up with a redeployment plan to address all the mentioned issues as there is actually no redeployment plan.
“Madam Speaker: Thank you, hon. Minister. Yes!
“Mr Jhummun: Thank you, hon. Minister. It is a request. Can the Hon. Minister try to arrange a meeting with all the inhabitants concerned and propose them with alternatives, such as the new houses that will be offered in Souillac? So, can a meeting with the inhabitants be arranged? Thank you.
“Mr Bhagwan: Definitely, Madam Speaker. My colleague and I have spoken, and we are moving in that direction once the Minister of Housing and Lands comes back.”
LALIT Open letter addressed to Minister of Housing, Shakeel Mohamed on the urgent replacement of asbestos houses - 22nd January 2025
Dear Hon. Shakeel Mohamed
LALIT addresses you this letter as Minister for Housing and Lands about asbestos housing that continues putting the health and lives of residents who live in them because they do not have the means to replace these toxic houses. As you probably know, these houses were built after Carol cyclone in 1960 all over the island of Mauritius to provide emergency housing quickly. These toxic houses were eventually sold to inhabitants as from the late 1980’s. When inhabitants got to know of the dangers, those with the means to replace such dangerous housing were able to do so. Those without the means were left with asbestos housing that had degraded over time and had become all the more dangerous as they started becoming crumbly and powdery, with all the health risks of cancer, asbestosis (a scarring of the lung tissue) and mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lung cavity).
After some 20 years of struggle of inhabitants of asbestos housing together with LALIT, in December 2019, Housing Minister Obeegadoo wrote to LALIT to ask us for a brief on how to proceed with the replacement of asbestos housing which we promptly sent (See attachment 1). Finally in 2022, Rs 800 million was voted by Parliament to replace asbestos housing within a two-year period. The Ministry announced that Rs5,000 would be provided for families to rent a place to live while their house was being replaced. Inhabitants of asbestos housing were given hope that finally, their health and lives meant something to the State.
In 2020, a special unit within the NHDC was set up to organise this: there was a technical survey by the Ministry to organise how to replace asbestos housing. The Ministry announced that asbestos housing region by region would be replaced starting with Goodlands and Bambous. In 2024, when inhabitants together with LALIT had a meeting with the NHDC about why replacement was taking so long, we were told that housing would be replaced in batches of 10, and that they were waiting for the selected 10 families in each of these two regions to get their affidavits. At this rate, the replacement of asbestos housing, an emergency situation, would take years (See attachment 2). This, we realised, was a delaying tactic: In these two years, not even one asbestos house has been replaced. We had specifically asked for a timetable of when houses in each area would be replaced so that inhabitants could prepare in advance for this. This never came to be.
Meanwhile, inhabitants without the means to replace the asbestos house that the State sold to them, are compelled to continue living in a toxic house that endangers their health and lives.
We propose a meeting with you together with LALIT and delegates of asbestos housing from different site EDC across the island to discuss how you propose to replace asbestos housing as quickly as possible given that it is a question of public health in these areas.
We are also attaching an outline on LALIT’s actions over the past 23 years together with asbestos housing inhabitants. (See attachment 3).
Yours sincerely,
Rada Kistnasamy and Rajni Lallah
for LALIT
(Attachment 1)
LALIT emailed this dossier to Housing Minister Obeegadoo on 9 December, 2019:
(1) Dosye lor sityasyon aktyel ranplasman lakaz lamyant
Guvernman finn dakor pu demantel lakaz lamyant (get Anex 1 ki montre langazman ki Minister Sekirite Sosyal ek Lanvironnman finn pran), me pankor ena okenn plan pu guvernman ranplas lakaz lamyant ki li pe demantle. Sel lof guvernman se pu pey lokasyon ziska Rs 5,000 par mwa pandan 1 an pu dimunn ki so lakaz lamyant finn demoli ek swa Building Materials Grant, swa Roof Slab grant (enn grant ki tu dimunn ki tus anba Rs 20,000 ti kapav gayne detutfason). Let-la fer li kler ki ranplasman lakaz lamyant, li pa pu lor sarz guvernman. Se abitan lakaz lamyant ki bizin pran sarz ranplasman lakaz-la.
Anfet guvernman ti fini pran langazman pu ranplas lakaz lamyant (Anex 2 – Repons Minis Lanvironnman dan Parlman 17 Novam, 2015, Hansard No. 40/2015). Se Minis Lozman ki ti an-sarz plan rekonstriksyon lakaz, me li pa ti prezant okenn plan.
Tu rapor ofisyel ki finn rann piblik dir ki se guvernman ki ena responsabilite pu ranplas lakaz lamyant:
1. Rapor Ombudsperson pu Zanfan 2017-2018 (Anex 3)
2. Rapor Truth and Justice Commission 2011, Volim 1 (Anex 4)
3. Rapor Dr. Sibartie, Minister Lasante 2006 (Anex 5)
Li anfet pa osi konplike ki sa. Minister Lozman ena zis pu kol notis lor lakaz lamyant pu donn notis ki li pe kase e ranplase apartir tel dat lor baz danze a lasante piblik e invit dimunn ki ena kit obzeksyon pu vinn Minister. Li anmemtan pibliye kalandriye landrwa par landrwa pu abitan kone kan pu ena demolisyon ek ranplasman lakaz dan so landrwa. Abitan ti deza fini fer konplint CAB apre 2yem Manifestasyon konzwin LALIT-Abitan Lakaz Lamyant an Oktob 2018, alor CAB deza ena enn lalist abitan konserne.
Minister Lozman bizin fer enn plan pu rekonstriksyon lakaz mem grander avek lakaz existan me li bizin asire ki finn fer lafuy apropriye pu fondasyon ek pu kul baz. E lerla li prosed a rekonstriksyon lakaz selon so kalandriye.
(Attachment 2)
Minits Rankont Ofisye Responsab pu plan Ranplasman Lakaz Lamyant
Mardi 6 Zin, 2023 9am, NHDC dan NexTeracom Tower no. 1, Ebene
Prezan:
Pu NHDC – Vijay Naraidoo ek Surendra Museliah
Pu Abitan Lakaz Lamyant:
Goodlands: Guy Sylvio
La Ferme: Shanti Marc ek Madam de Novembre
Henrietta: Roger Husseiny
Pu LALIT – Alain Ah-Vee ek Rajni Lallah
Rapor NHDC kot finn arive kote ranplasman lakaz lamyant
Vijay Naraidoo finn explike ki sa rankont-la li swit a let ki LALIT finn avoy Minis Lozman pu dimann li ki pe ariv plan ranplasman lakaz lamyant. Li finn explike ki:
1. Depi Oktob-Novam 2022, ofisye NHDC ek Minister Lozman finn al lor tu bann sayt dan pei kot ena lakaz lamyant pu fer enn resansman;
2. Dan Goodlands, La Ferme, Henrietta ek Dubreuil, finn pran mezir pu konpran kimanyer pu ranplas lakaz;
3. Dan Goodlands, La Ferme, Henrietta, Dubreuil finn selekte 8-12 fami ki zot lakaz pu ranplase. Seki pa ti ankor fer afidavit, NHDC finn organiz transpor e fre noter pu ki fer afidavit. Ena abitan ki pankor sumet papye neseser pu ki fer afidavit;
Kan fini fer afidavit bizin pran mizir ki bizin pu nuvo lakaz. NHDC fini pran mizir dan Laferme. Aster zot pe al Goodlands.
4. Ena 2 dizaynn pu ranplasman lakaz ki bizin ariv a 60m2. Kot lespas tro restrin, finn fer enn dizaynn 30m2 kot ena letaz;
5. Ena abitan deza ena lespas kot zot finn mont an-beton akote seki vedir zot pa bizin lokasyon Rs5,000 ki inkli dan plan ranplasman lakaz e ena ki bizin sa lokasyon-la an-atandan ki ranplas zot lakaz lamyant.
6. Prosesis demolisyon organize par seksyon Solid Waste Management Minister Lanvironnman pran 2 mwa, lerla bizin rod permi konstriksyon (BLUP), rod kontrakter lerla prosed a ranplasman alor prosesis-la pu pran apepre 9 mwa;
7. Reinyon explikasyon pu abitan pe kontinye e fek fer enn dan Souillac kot ti invit abitan Batimarais, Camp Diable e Bois Cheri osi.
Propozisyon kote delege abitan Goodlands, La Ferme, Henrietta e delege LALIT
Delege ek Reprezantan LALIT prezan finn fer bann pwin e propozisyon swivan:
1. Etan done pena desizyon Kabine Minis u mem kominike Minister ofisyel u mem deklarasyon ofisyel Minis Lozman ki pu ranplas lakaz lamyant; etan done ki bidze 2023-2024 finn mansyonn zis “Removal and Rehabilitation of ex-CHA houses”, li pa kler ki pe ariv sa plan ranplasman lakaz lamyant.
Ofisye CAB e PPS pa okuran ki ena plan ranplasman lakaz lamyant alor suvan zot dir ki ena ZIS plan pu retir lakaz lamyant ek sibsid NHDC pu materyo rekonstriksyon dal ziska Rs100,000. MBC TV so reportaz lor rankont dan sirkonskripsyon no. 14 ki nu finn fer mansyon dan nu let, li enn lexanp.
Etan done plan-la, li lor 2 an, 1 an fini pase e pankor ena ranplasman okenn lakaz, tu abitan byin
trakase ki pa pu ariv ziska ranplasman lakaz lamyant;
Alor nu propoz enn kominike ofisyel Minister pu ki ofisyaliz sa plan ranplasman lakaz lamyant-la ek enn kalandriye pu abitan kone kimanyer sa plan ranplasman-la pu konkretize dan lapratik kumsa abitan tu landrwa kapav fini gayn letan planifye;
2. Li pa rezonab pu tard plan ranplasman lakaz lamyant akoz ena dimunn ki pena papye. Alor kan abitan pe tarde, pran lot ki an-mezir fer afidavit tuzur e anmemtan, etan done pena kriter klas lor kimanyer pe swazir sa premye dizenn fami ki zot lakaz pu ranplase.
Nu propoz ki ena kriter an-ord priyorite kler:
a) Kot ena dimunn ki ena problem lasante liye a lamyant – problem respiratwar u kanser u problem alerzi;
b) Ki so lakaz li zis ena lamyant setadir li pa finn kapav azut lasam an-beton;
c) Ki pli aze pu ki evit ki gayn plis problem pu fer afidavit.
Lakor ki finn sorti dan rankont
Vijay Naraidoo finn pran langazman dan rankont ki:
1. Li pu chek sa item bidze “Removal and Rehabilitation of ex-CHA houses” pu gete sipa li inklir ranplasman lakaz;
2. Li pu fer enn rankont avek tu ofisye CAB e PPS pu explik zot lor plan ranplasman lakaz;
3 a) Ki li dakor ki pa kapav tarde akoz pe atann dimunn amenn papye ki manke pu fer afidavit e ki bizin pran lot abitan ki an-mezir fer afidavit tuzur.
b) Li finn osi dir ki NHDC pu konsider sa 3 kriter ki nu finn propoze lor lekel ranplas lakaz abitan an priyorite dorenavan, me ki abitan ki fini mezir so lakaz, pa pu kapav met aryer e retir li lor lalist.
4. Li pu inform LALIT osito ki li gayn linformasyon osize desizyon ki pran lor tu sa bann kestyon-la.
Abitan lakaz lamyant kapav kontakte li uswa Surendra Museliah NHDC lor 468-7020 pu gayn plis ranseynman.
Minits RL/AA e Verifye par VN ek SM pu NHDC
(Attachment 3)
Outline in brief of LALIT’s actions
2002- The Addison report called for urgent removal of EDC asbestos housing
2002- Petition organised by LALIT starting in the South.
2006- Dr R. Sibartie, Head of Health Ministry’s Occupational Health Unit concluded in a report that the asbestos panels in the Housing Estates will have to be replaced by Government.
2011- The Truth and Justice Commission Report stated the asbestos houses are damaging to Health and should be pulled down phase to phase and re-constructed with proper Material.
2015- Minister of Housing, Hon. S. Soodhun issued a communique announcing a major plan to replace asbestos housing.
2018- Two demonstration in Port-louis organised by 50 Joint Committees- LALIT-Inhabitants in July and October. Letters signed by 340 inhabitants were addressed to Prime Minister Jugnauth to request him to put a time-frame for dismantling and replacing the dangerous asbestos houses.
2022- Letter addressed to Hon. Obeegadoo in June after budget allocation of Rs 800M to request him to set a Time-Frame and regional desks on a regional basis.
2022- Mr V.Naraidoo in charge of Asbestos Unit at NHDC in September inform us in a meeting that work for removing asbestos houses will start at Cite, Ste Claire , Goodlands and Cite Laferme, Bambous and then will be extended to other regions after.
2023- In May a Letter was addressed to Minister Obeegadoo asking for a follow-up meeting. No reply.
2024- Mr Naraidoo no longer heading the asbestos housing unit at NHDC. New officer in charge unable to explain where matters stand concerning removing and replacing asbestos houses.
